gunpowder
Americannoun
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an explosive mixture, as of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, used in shells and cartridges, in fireworks, for blasting, etc.
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Also called gunpowder tea. a fine variety of green China tea, each leaf of which is rolled into a little ball.
noun
Other Word Forms
- gunpowdery adjective
Etymology
Origin of gunpowder
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; gun 1, powder 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One Tehran local told the BBC that the city had been turned into a "ghost town" with empty streets and a lingering smell of gunpowder.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026
Authorities vowed to stabilize investment with more fiscal gunpowder from the central government, according to the Xinhua readout of the gathering.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
The scene was pure chaos: thick smoke from gunpowder still hanging in the air, water cascading from ruptured pipes in the ceiling, alarms blaring, strobe lights flashing.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025
Drones were spotted this month in France, loitering around a gunpowder plant and a train station where tanks are located.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025
“We got this gunpowder from an archer at the last outpost.”
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
